Category Archives: Suffering

I lay bare my distress

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A reading from tonight’s Evening Prayer reminded me of God’s availability during times of suffering:

Psalm 142: 2-4;

With full voice I cry to the LORD; with full voice I beseech the LORD.
Before God I pour out my complaint, lay bare my distress.
My spirit is faint within me, but you know my path.

No matter the trouble you are having, God is always near to hear your plaintive scream for help. No matter the seeming insignificance or overwhelming deluge of the problem, unload and vent to God, “lay bare” your “distress” . You may feel weak and strung out, but God knows the path that you’re on and how your current troubles will ultimately lead to your salvation. For that is essentially the meaning of all suffering, as Jesus suffered for our sins, we must accept any that comes our way. Not in any masochistic need, just a humble awareness that as Christians we too must take up our cross and follow Jesus.

Suffering is also an effect of the Original Sin that Jesus died for. So to reject suffering is to reject the true nature of the world and to ultimately resent God if you cannot reconcile the world today with the essential existence of suffering. This may be rather difficult to contemplate and accept while going through trials, so all the more reason to turn immediately to God and with your “full voice”, “cry out” and “beseech the Lord”. Pray. Pray hard.

The Lord knows your path. He knows what special mission you are on, the unique and special purpose that He called you into being for. He will see you through your troubles.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

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The Gospel from today’s Mass for Friday of the 4th Week of Easter is a very hopeful and encouraging passage for people seeking a way out of alcoholism and addiction.

John 14:1-6;

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.” Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

There are many paths to sobriety. Twelve Step movements and the newer alternative paths out of alcoholism and addiction help people cope with sobriety and being clean. Many people stop there, feeling that merely not drinking and drugging is enough. This is fine, particularly if your life as an drinker or user was for a very long time. (My drinking career was 10 years, not long by most standards.) Others feel that merely being clean and sober isn’t enough.

And so they go beyond sobriety movements and seek out a deeper spirituality. Many return to the religion of their youth in the hopes of returning to a path they were derailed off of. Others don’t bother and try new things.

I returned to the religion of my youth, Catholicism. To me, even during my fallen away days, it seemed that it was the real Christianity, that all others were well-meaning but inferior in some way. No disrespect intended, it was just my gut feeling.

Back to the Gospel reading from today. Jesus is the only true way to the Father, no one can get to Him except through Jesus. There may be other paths to salvation, but none, not one, has the guarantee of God Himself that if you follow His Son, you will be saved. This is the one sure reason to justify being a Christian, we alone have the roadmap to salvation written by God. And we Catholics have the Church He established to carry out and safeguard His teachings until He returns again to judge us all.

Twelve Step and alternative paths of recovery do the job they intend to do, with varying degrees of success. But they only cover a part of the problem. While they do a good job of keeping people clean and sober when the work, the tendency of people to just stay sober or follow an easy spiritual path because it is, well, easy, happens too often.

Jesus is the only sure path to salvation. He also came to heal the sick and the broken. His Church has the tools necessary for healing, just as Jesus Himself healed. These are the sacraments that He instituted, such as Holy Communion and Confession. Through prayer and meditation and the participation in these sacraments, we can be healed of our addictions to the point where they simply are not an option to use when things are difficult. In fact, a central point of Christianity, and in particular Catholicism, is that we must accept difficulties (i.e. suffering) as essential in being disciples of Christ. Catholic Christianity heals us, body and soul, in a manner far more complete and essential that mere sobriety programs. They may be useful tools in addition to Catholicism, but only deal with one area, your mental health. Your soul still needs work.

That is why nearly a year-and-a-half ago I started this blog. I had looked all over the web for Catholic sites dealing with sobriety, but found not much. No blogs or other readily updated and interactive sites. I had hoped to introduce people who are seeking a deeper spirituality than that offered by recovery movements the opportunity to see how the Catholic faith and spirituality can help you stay sober and more importantly, grow closer to God. That hope continues after some periods of inactivity these past 6 months. (Note to regular readers: That random inactivity may be over as I have settled into my new job and new life as a husband. From now on there shouldn’t be major interruptions to blogging, as a normal, albeit grander life has returned.)

Follow Jesus and His Church. Just as Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, so is His Church (problems and all. The Truth and Holiness of the Catholic Church is found in her teachings, not the behavior of her members.) . If you’re new to reading Sober Catholic, take some time and randomly read articles in the archive. If you’ve been here before, regular blogging has (hopefully) returned.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

You will be like gods

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An excerpt from the First Reading from today’s Mass for the First Sunday of Lent:

Genesis 3:1-7;

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the LORD God had made. The serpent asked the woman, “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?”
The woman answered the serpent: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'”
But the serpent said to the woman: “You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad.”
The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

This is the explanation for the cause of evil and suffering in the world. We humans are responsible for a decision in which we believed that we can be like gods and decide for ourselves what is morally good and what is not. It isn’t in today’s reading, but the next verses from Genesis Chapter 3 detail the punishment God meted out to our first parents and their progeny. Read on and decide, “Yes, that explains evil in the world and why life is a succession of toil and drudgery.” Granted there are breaks in between full of beauty and peace, but essentially things are tough because we chose long ago to decide for ourselves to be arbiters of morality and justice. This was wrong as before this we had lived in perfect harmony with God, therefore what need had we to try exalt ourselves to His position, the source of all that is good and moral? For our arrogance we Fell and life is the way it is.

One reason I started this blog was due to my perception that this was in a way being replicated in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, at least where and when I attended them. But in reading AA literature such as the Grapevine magazine and online forums, I think it is common elsewhere. The concept of AA’s “Higher Power” had drifted away from it’s original intent. It had been designed to enable religious members of the early AA to continue to believe in whatever their concept of God was, as taught by their religious tradition. It has come to mean that “It doesn’t matter what you believe in, as long as you believe in something”. It has become to be used as an excuse for disavowing organized religion (particularly Catholicism as it is the example used most often) and just doing whatever feels nice and spiritual to you. The “Higher Power” has become God designed in our own image.

God made us, not we Him. By creating Him in our image as the “Higher Power” concept has devolved into merely serves to permit people to follow the path of least resistance morally. We decide for ourselves what is moral and what is not, by our own self-determined convictions. This is not the way to believe or behave as Christians, Catholic or otherwise.

We have a clearly defined moral path as laid out in Sacred Scripture and authoritatively interpreted and taught by the Church. We go our own way and we repeat the Original Sin of Adam and Eve.

It’s a tough road to trudge, submitting to a power greater than yourself and the earthly institution He created. No getting around that. Easier and softer ways in one’s relationship with God may be all feel-good and inoffensive, but ultimately unfullfilling.

But on the other hand, it’s the tried and true roadmap to eternal peace and happiness. Really, not a tough decision.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Help for those who are tested

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From the Second Reading from today’s morning Mass, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord:

Hebrews 2:14-18;

Since the children share in blood and flesh, Jesus likewise shared in them, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the Devil, and free those who through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life. Surely he did not help angels but rather the descendants of Abraham; therefore, he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

I’ll repeat the last line: Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

Every one of us faces tests on a daily basis. Some of us more than others. For anyone suffering from an addiction, either still enslaved by it or recovering from it, the tests can be brutal. All sorts of things attack us daily and the answer is sometimes presented as: “Just one wouldn’t hurt. What harm can just one do?”

Plenty, as we all know.

Because Jesus Himself was tested, He can assist us, we can call upon Him to increase our strength, (or increase His strength within us). He was tested for 40 days in the desert by Satan, He was tested for 3 excruciating, agonizing hours on the Cross, we can place our sufferings and temptations in light of His. We can get strength from Him.

It’s an emotional exercise, more than anything else, but then again when we are suffering through trials and temptations, our emotions are engaged and our higher rational thinking is absent.

Look upon the Cross.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Trusting in God

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A prayer by St. Francis DeSales:

Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life with fear. Rather, look to them with full confidence that, as they arise, God to whom you belong will in His love enable you to profit by them. He has guided you thus far in life. Do you but hold fast to His dear hand, and He will lead you safely through all trials. Whenever you cannot stand, He will carry you lovingly in His arms.

Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow. The same Eternal Father who takes care of you today will take care of you tomorrow, and every day of your life. Either He will shield you from suffering or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it.

Be at peace then, and put aside all useless thoughts, all vain dreads and all anxious imaginations.

From the Gospel according to Matthew;

Matthew 6:25-34;

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Be made clean

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From the Gospel according to Luke, from today’s Mass (Friday after Epiphany) 
Luke 5:12-16;

Now there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where he was; and when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”

Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do will it. Be made clean.” And the leprosy left him immediately.

Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but “Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”

The report about him spread all the more, and great crowds assembled to listen to him and to be cured of their ailments, but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.



The man was instantly healed of leprosy. Would that our addiction of alcoholism be lifted immediately as well. No pain, no suffering (ours or anyone else’s) no loss of family, jobs, years and so on. No need to rebuild everything from the start in your 30’s or 40’s or 50’s and wonder if it’s too late. (Although people in recovery invariably enjoy that aspect of it, once there’s been a sustained period of sobriety. The idea of a fresh start is wonderful. Still, there may be a lingering feeling of “Why me?”, especially when you dwell to long on regrets.)
Anyway, such is not our doing. We cannot linger in the time-wasting exercise of regret, nor the “Why me?” attitude towards our alcoholism and addiction.
We can, however, approach  Jesus and ask for our healing and humbly wait for as long as it takes. Things are done in God’s time, and the process of healing may take as long as it does for our own benefit. We learn from it. Alcoholics and addicts are people who routinely want what we want, and we want it now. And when we get what we want, we sometimes forget what it was like before we got it. Our want was satiated, our lacking was satisfied and then we’re on to the next want. Nothing is learned.
People who are sincerely trying to recover from alcoholism and addiction through a spiritual method such as religion or a Twelve Step movement understand that things useful are earned and merited, not given.
Ask God in your prayer time not “Why me?”, but rather, “What are You trying to teach me in all this? What am I supposed to do with this? How is this bringing me closer to You and to others?” 
Then wait silently and listen, the answer may come soon.
I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Rains, Floods and Wind

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From the Gospel reading for today’s Mass:

Matthew 7:21,24-27;

Jesus said to his disciples:“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’will enter the Kingdom of heaven,but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came,and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came,and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

Being Christian is not a part-time thing, something to be done for an hour on Sundays or when it is convenient. It is supposed to be something that we are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is supposed to guide us in all events and situations.

Jesus is implying this when He differentiates between those who hear His words and lives by them versus those who only listen. Those who live by His teachings survive the buffetings of life, all the storms that rage against us. Those who do not will not.

What house of faith do we build? Is in one built on rock, so that when we are buffeted by trials, temptations, troubles and tribulations we survive, because we rest in Jesus and His teachings? Or is it a house of faith built upon sand, so that when the least amount of trouble comes, it collapses and falls because we relied upon our own strengths?

The former is the faith we Christians are supposed to possess, the faith that endures whatever is tossed at us by life; the latter is the faith of convenience, the faith that on the outside seems sincere and devoted, but is abandoned in trying times. A faith that is crushed by life. That is a faith that isn’t strong, so that it’s possessor abandons it for the seeming comfort of an addiction or a secular solution.

One of my main character defects that seems to uncomfortably linger on despite 5 and a half years of sobriety is impatience, frustration, and annoyance. I lump them all together because they are all a symptom or offshoot of pride. “Why should I have to endure this trial, this delay and whatnot? Don’t you realize who I am?” And therefore when something happens that offends my sense of how things should be ordered for my convenience, I get impatient, annoyed, irritable and the like. I usually work through it and come out much the better, but the lag time between the thing that triggered my impatience, etc., and my acceptance lasts too long, it seems. Granted, my “working through it” helps me to grow spiritually, but still the example could be better and the results do not justify the means.

Anyway, humility is the usual antidote to pride. I have to remind myself of my proper place in the Universe (there is a God and I’m not Him, I’m just a sinner with a computer) and struggle to do better. I try to place in my mind a training method that recognizes these prideful triggers and nip them in the bud as soon as I can. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. I’m a sinner and I recognize that.

Humility is a major theme for this Advent season. The obvious counter to any prideful resentment over having to endure a situation is to remind ourselves that God humbled Himself to become like us, so as to to eventually pay the price of the crime we committed, that of Original Sin. Jesus’ birth and death were two humiliating circumstances that He did not have to undergo. But He did for love of us. This needs to be meditated upon again and again during this season. (We get to do it again in a few months when Lent begins.)

We listen to Jesus’s words and we live by them. We humbly accept whatever happens to us, and hopefully calmness will be the response and not frustration and impatience. We rest in Jesus. “Our hearts are restless until we rest in Him,” is either a Scriptural quote or a saying of a Saint, I can’t place it either way. It is a struggle to overcome our failings, but somehow we have to learn to live like another Christ. And living means to breathe, eat, drink, love and think. We can eat and drink of the Eucharist, and love and think through prayer.

Continue on your Advent journey of preparing for Christ’s arrival.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Our Lady of Sorrows

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On September 15th the Church celebrates the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. This feast honors the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as the sorrowful Mother of our Lord, sharing in His sufferings and death.

This was predicted in Sacred Scripture in both of the Gospel Readings that can be used in today’s Memorial Mass:

Luke 2:33-35;

Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
“Behold, this child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
and you yourself a sword will pierce
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

John 19:25-27;

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved
he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

The sword that pierced Mary’s heart mentioned in Luke was her Son’s sufferings, crucifixion and death. She is our role model in the sharing of His sufferings, in that we are also to share in them by uniting our trials and tribulations to Him. “Nail them to the Cross.”

In John’s Gospel, we see that Jesus, from upon the Cross, gave the care of His Mother to the disciple John. By extension, He also gave her to us. We are also His disciples, and a proper Christian takes Mary into their home and honors her. This honoring and reverence for Mary is also Scriptural:

Luke 1:46-48;

And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.

By making Mary blessed in your home and within your soul, you are following the will of God as outlined in Scripture. And as Mary is held up as the role model for all of us in following the will of God, male and female, sober or drunk, we should do well to follow such direction.

She paid for her obedience to God’s will by sharing in her Son’s suffering. We can look to her for guidance and consolation in our own sufferings and trials.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Triumph of the Cross

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On September 14th the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. We read in the Second Reading from Today’s Mass, from Paul’s Letter to the Phillipians:

Phillipians 2:6-11

Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Because of His humility in accepting a horrific death He was exalted by God, and all who wish to follow Him must likewise accept whatever crosses that are bestowed upon them. This is a central belief in Christianity, that accepting suffering is honorable and necessary and essential for what Christians call “successful” and “normal” .

Note that this differs strongly from what the world refers to as “successful” and “normal”. Christianity, and especially Catholicism, offers the only real explanation for suffering (Original Sin, read Genesis 3) and offers the only real solution (acceptance). Others deny it or avoid it and the world tells you that you should take something or do something to eliminate it. This is why we drink and drug, and why perhaps some of us abuse said drink and drugs.

We find our victory in the Cross of Christ. On His Cross, death was destroyed forever, inasmuch as it will never again keep us out of Heaven. We can still reject God and Heaven, but that’s another issue. If we follow God’s will as best we can, guided by the Church and the Holy Spirit, we will eventually find our union with God for all eternity.

The suffering that we endured while drinking and recovering we nail to the Cross of Christ. We unite our sufferings to His. As He destroyed death, so too will we achieve our victory over whatever we are addicted to.

This is the contradiction of the Cross, that in apparent defeat and death, victory and life are achieved. We had reached the nadir of our life when we hit our bottom, and reached that point where we thought that if we continue to drink we will die, but if we stop we may only think we will die.

But somehow we pulled ourselves up (or more than likely had help) and sought to live. Our old selves were crucified, and we arose in a resurrection of sorts and in some manner unique to our abilities bring the hope of our sobriety to others.

Nail it to the Cross. Whatever it is that is disturbing you or keeping you awake at night. Look upon a crucifix (a cross with Jesus’ body hanging from it) and regard that as your hope. For it is. Without the Death and subsequent Resurrection of Jesus we would all be barred from Heaven. Protestant Christians prefer crosses without the body of Christ on it, claiming that the victory has been won in His Resurrection. This is only partly true. But you cannot have the Resurrection without the Crucifixion. Good Friday comes before Easter Sunday on the calendar.

Without the suffering, there is no living.

The Holy Cross of Christ, with Him on it, is the symbol of our hope. It is our reminder that our sufferings will end, that they have merit, and will lead to our own victory.

Nail it to the Cross. Gaze upon the Cross of Christ and hope.

From the Gospel from today’s Mass:

John 3:16;

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.

That Cross is our sign that we will not perish.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Trials Permitted to Happen for a Reason

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While randomly flipping through the Douay-Rheims translation of the Bible last night while in Eucharistic Adoration, I chanced upon this passage from Tobias (Tobit in the NAB. Please note that the translation in the NAB is very different from the D-R. If you don’t have a copy of the D-R, there’s a link to it in the blog’s sidebar in the “For all things Catholic” section).

Tobias 2:12-14

Now this trial the Lord therefore permitted to happen to him, that an example might be given to posterity of his patience, as also of holy Job. For whereas he had always feared God from his infancy, and kept his commandments, he repined not against God because the evil of blindness had befallen him, but continued immoveable in the fear of God, giving thanks to God all the days of his life.

Tobias had become blind, despite having led a virtuous and faithful life in very trying circumstances. (Why do bad things happen to good people?)

Note that the passage says that the Lord permitted this trial to happen to him, meaning perhaps that God could have prevented it.

But the passage also states that there was a reason for the trial’s happening, “so that an example might be given to posterity for his patience.”

OK, so a bad thing happened to a good person. And perhaps such things fit in with God’s overall plan for your life, that a bad thing occurs so that something good is drawn out of it. In Tobias’ case, it was so that others would benefit from his patient endurance.

How do you react to your alcoholism or addiction? Are you angry and resentful that you cannot drink like normal people? (You might know the joke told in AA meetings: “If I could drink like a normal person, I’d drink all day.”) Or do you accept your addiction, deal with it, incorporate the principles of your recovery program into your life and seek to determine how you can learn from your experience and apply it to other people and situations?

In my cessation from drinking, I learned I needed more that what AA’s spirituality offered. I returned to the Catholic Faith, feeling that only a 2,000 year-old religion with its breadth and depth can truly keep me sober and alive. AND I eventually started this blog, with the idea that there are other Catholics and spiritual seekers who need to dive into deep waters to sustain them, because other spiritual solutions are unsatisfying.

So, what are YOU doing with your sobriety? If your sobriety is a private affair, that is wonderful, you are still an example to others in a little way. But if you feel called to do something more than just not drink, that is wonderful also, as you are seeking to reach out to others and bring the Gospel message to those who need it.

Do whatever is within your abilities and don’t apologize for not doing more, if more is beyond your reach. As long as you end up viewing your sobriety as a gift, and your recovery as something that brought you closer to God. We are not all called to start Catholic sobriety blogs, or whatever else. We are meant to stay sober and draw closer to God. Whether in small ways or big ways, you’re doing God’s work. This is more than most.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)